Divemedic

Financial Repression

Global wealth manager UBS has released a report that says the government may make its growing debt more manageable by turning to additional financial repression measures that would artificially lower the yield on government bonds. The way that this works, is the government wouls be deliberately keep interest rates low and allow inflation to rise to devalue the government’s debt by paying the debt with inflated dollars.

This strategy lowers the interest rate on the debt, and makes it easier to pay the debt by making the interest rate on government debt lower than the rate of inflation, which allows the government to pay yesterday’s debt with today’s lower valued currency. This is yet another hidden tax, as savings and other assets denominated in dollars lose value to inflation faster than they gain value from returns.

“For a country as large and wealthy as the US, widespread financial repression seems feasible and could enable the government to continue financing a growing debt burden without materially increasing its risk of default.

Financial repression policies could be deployed temporarily to provide fiscal breathing room, allowing for budget consolidation and improvement, followed by a phase-out and a return to more conventional policy settings. In such a scenario, economic distortions should remain temporary and manageable.”

Yeah, right. When has the government, any government, instituted a temporary emergency measure that allowed them to spend more money? Once this begins, you will know that the fiscal ship is sinking. Physical assets that you control are the key to navigating this particular issue.

Hard times are a comin’

By Divemedic, ago

No One Is Coming to Save You

Ten states and the District of Columbia are violating the Constitutional rights of their citizens by banning so-called “assault weapons” and the majority of SCOTUS doesn’t care. The 4th Circuit concluded that assault weapons are not protected by the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms at all “because, in essence, they are military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense.”  But even if the Second Amendment does protect the right to have assault rifles, the court continued, the law is still constitutional because it “fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation. It is but another example of a state regulating excessively dangerous weapons once their incompatibility with a lawful and safe society becomes apparent, while nonetheless preserving avenues for armed self-defense.” 

Where do the words “self defense” appear in the Second Amendment? The continued inventing of phrases by our courts that is done to justify whatever violation is popular that day is a travesty. That travesty is compounded by the fact that leftist Comey-Barret is again siding with the Democrats, and that Kavanaugh is again showing that they have photos of him at Epstein island or at a Diddy party, because his occasional lapses seem like he is being controlled. No matter the reason, out courts are displaying the total lack of regard for anything but political Kabuki.

By Divemedic, ago

Viewpoints

I know this story is 7 years old, but it displays an important point. A 17 year old was burglarizing a woman’s house and set off her burglar alarm, which alerted the 54 year old homeowner of the break in. She called police while rushing home, and arrived before the police to find the burglar climbing out of a window. She confronted him, he attacked her, she shot and killed him. Police ruled that the shooting was self defense. I won’t comment on the details or legality of the shooting, as there just aren’t enough facts in this article to say either way. (Although I think it is important to note that I can’t find where charges were ever filed.) What I want to concentrate on is what the man’s mother had to say:

“You have to look at it from every child’s point of view that was raised in the hood,” said Harris. “You have to understand… how he gonna get his money to have clothes to go to school? You have to look at it from his point-of-view.”

This is why your average negro isn’t capable of living in a high trust society. They look at things through what THEY want, and have no capacity for considering the needs or property of others. If they want something, they take it, property rights of other people be damned.

By Divemedic, ago

News

To clear out some tabs, here are some news stories from around Central Florida:

A new Florida law will allow people to pay some bills with gold and silver coins. People who do so will not have to pay sales tax. This really doesn’t help anything. Let me explain. Silver’s melt value is $33.60, but one ounce coins cost $43.24, a 29% markup. The sales tax is only 7% to 8%, so you are losing out. On top of that, you would owe capital gains taxes to the Feds on any increase in the value of the coin between buying it and when you used it to pay a bill.

A man in Polk County, Florida was swimming in a Lake when he was bitten by an alligator. When police arrived, he grabbed a pair of garden shears and attempted to break into a police cruiser to steal a firearm before being shot by deputies.

People in Tavares are leaving guns in their unlocked cars, and thieves are stealing them. This is the time of year for car break ins, because high school students are out of school, bored, and looking for things to do. Don’t leave a gun in your vehicle, especially an unlocked one.

The local press is breathlessly posting that ride share drivers like Uber and the like are sometimes carrying guns. Note that the police ticketed and towed the car, not because of the gun, which was returned to him, but because he didn’t have permission to pick up fares at the airport. The left wing media is more concerned with a man carrying a gun with a permit and operating a ride service without a permit than they are for people entering the US illegally.

By Divemedic, ago

Last Call

Those professions where death is a part of the job have developed complex rituals for honoring those who have made the sacrifice. The military and the fire department are two of those that I had the pleasure of serving in. You show your respect to the departed by performing the ritual as perfectly as possible.

If you want to see a hundred manly men break out into tears, attend one of those services. For me, it is the fire department last call. Having spent a combined 30 years in the uniforms of the military and the fire department, I attended perhaps a dozen line of duty funerals. The ceremony goes like this:

The deceased firefighter’s truck is taken out of service. His crew spends an entire day emptying the hose bed, cleaning the truck, and draping the insignia and emergency lights with black bunting. His gear is placed in the front passenger seat. When the funeral is over, the casket is loaded into the hose bed of the truck for the ride to the graveside.

A radio and speaker are setup at the graveside. Dispatch calls the missing (dead) firefighter over the radio:

  • <Tones sound for station 14>
  • Dispatch to firefighter 143.
  • Dispatch to firefighter 143.
  • Dispatch to firefighter 143.
  • “No answer from firefighter 143. Let the record show that 143, firefighter John Smith answered his final call at 1410 on this date. For over ten years, he provided dedicated service to the people of this city. Rest easy brother, we have it from here.”

Then a bagpiper located behind the crowd begins playing “Amazing Grace” as he walks into the distance, the music fading with him. A bugler follows that with Taps. At this point, there is not a dry eye in the place.

I spend my memorial day remembering those who gave their lives in the service of others. I was honored to serve and work besides some of the greatest people that I have ever met, with more than I care to remember having given their lives in the service of the people of this nation.

No greater love hath man, that he who would give his life so that another might live.

By Divemedic, ago

Waste

Leesburg, Florida is the third fastest growing city in the United States. In fact, the city has increased in population by 18% in the past year. The city manager claims that 99% of that increase is due to The Villages, a nearby retirement community that is infamous for its frat house style elderly shenanigans. The houses in The Villages aren’t cheap- the average home in the area is selling for well over $400k.

Since Leesburg is located about an hour north of Orlando in Lake County, which is the county that wraps around the west and northwest side of the Orlando metro area, these new homeowners are paying school district property taxes, but the Lake county school district doesn’t have to provide any services. This is a huge cash cow for the county’s schools, with each home bringing in about $300 a year in school taxes. This means that the new construction is adding about $4.2 million in new tax revenue annually, and it’s being compounded each year as new homes are being built.

Other towns in Lake county are experiencing similar growth- Clermont, which is located about 20 miles south of Leesburg, has doubled in population in the past decade.

That’s why I was surprised to see that the Lake County School district is crying poor, claiming that they have a $35 million deficit, which they are attributing to a loss of 1,500 students. They said it’s partially because of the drop in birth rates in Lake County and the rise in private school vouchers. The county is claiming that they are losing $50 million a year to private schools. I say bullshit.

The county school board has an annual budget of nearly $730 million with a total enrollment of 48,500 students. If they are losing $50 million to vouchers, that represents 6,250 students, which is about 13% of total enrollment.

No, this deficit is due to mismanagement and waste, like most government money. For $15,000 a year per student, the taxpayers of Lake county should demand better. Our entire government, from the dog catcher to the President, is an exercise in poor management.

By Divemedic, ago

Sweat and Drinks

Sweat, or perspiration, is the primary means that humans use to cool themselves through the use of evaporative cooling. Very few mammals actually use perspiration as a cooling mechanism: in fact, other than a few primates, horses are the only mammals that use perspiration to cool down.

Sweat is 99% water. Dissolved in each liter of this water are the following minerals:

  • Sodium 900mg
  • Potassium 200 mg
  • Calcium 15 mg
  • Magnesium 1.3 mg

This means that perspiration has a much lower concentration of electrolytes than does blood. Still, as we sweat, we are not only losing water, but a lot of key electrolytes. If you are sweating heavily, you are losing more than just water, and that needs to be replaced. If you aren’t sweating heavily, then you shouldn’t have a lot of these because too many electrolytes is just as bad as not enough of them, especially if you have high blood pressure or heart failure.

There are a ton of electrolyte drinks out there: Gatorade is perhaps the most well known, but there is also Pedialyte, as well as a plethora of others. My biggest issue with many of these drinks is that they also contain an incredible amount of sugar. That’s why I only drink the zero sugar versions of these.

Gatorade has the electrolytes, but also comes with a lot of sugar. It carries 2 grams of sugar, 13.3mg of Sodium and 4.2mg of Potassium per ounce. I only drink these when I am exerting myself, and even then, I only drink the zero sugar versions. Cost is about 65 cents for a 16 ounce serving.

Liquid IV is a powder that is mixed with 16 ounces of water. When mixed, it carries 0.7 grams of sugar, 31mg of Sodium, and 23 mg of Potassium per ounce as mixed. I haven’t tried this one, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. Cost is $1.38 per 16 ounce serving.

LMNT (pronounced “element”) is another powder. It has 0.8g of sugar,16.5 mg of Sodium, and 12.5mg of Potassium per ounce as mixed. Cost is $1.30 per 16 ounce serving. I have never tried it, but I have seen advertising for it.

Pedialyte is a powder that is designed to replace electrolytes in children. It has about 0.675g of sugar, 16.25mg of Sodium, and 11.25mg of Potassium per mixed ounce. Cost is about $2 for a 16 ounce serving. I know that there are some athletes that like this stuff, but I hear that it tastes like armpit sweat.

I drink Gatoraid zero or another drink called Propel. I think they did well for me because my electrolytes were just a tiny bit low when I was in the hospital. Had I been drinking water, they would have been much lower, due to perspiration losses.

The disclaimer: I don’t advertise, and receive nothing for my reviews or articles. I don’t think that I ever will. I have no relationship with any products, companies, or vendors that I review here, other than being a customer. If I ever *DO* have a financial interest, I will disclose it. Otherwise, I pay what you would pay. No discounts or other incentives here. I only post these things because I think that my readers would be interested.

By Divemedic, ago